Overview

A revealing look at how user behaviour is powering deep social divisions online — and how we might yet defeat political tribalism on social media In an era of increasing social isolation, platforms like Facebook and Twitter are among the most important tools we have to understand each other. We use social media as a mirror to decipher our place in society but, as Chris Bail explains, it functions more like a prism that distorts our identities, empowers status-seeking extremists, and renders moderates all but invisible. Breaking the Social Media Prism challenges common myths about echo chambers, foreign misinformation campaigns, and radicalising algorithms, revealing that the solution to political tribalism lies deep inside ourselves. Drawing on innovative online experiments and in-depth interviews with social media users from across the political spectrum, this book explains why stepping outside of our echo chambers can make us more polarised, not less. Bail takes you inside the minds of online extremists through vivid narratives that trace their lives on the platforms and off — detailing how they dominate public discourse at the expense of the moderate majority. Wherever you stand on the spectrum of user behaviour and political opinion, he offers fresh solutions to counter political tribalism from the bottom up and the top down. He introduces new apps and bots to help readers avoid misperceptions and engage in better conversations with the other side. Finally, he explores what the virtual public square might look like if we could hit 'reset' and redesign social media from scratch through a first-of-its-kind experiment on a new social media platform built for scientific research. Providing data-driven recommendations for strengthening our social media connections, Breaking the Social Media Prism shows how to combat online polarisation without deleting our accounts. 'In this important and accessible book, Chris Bail shows that if you want to understand what's going on online, don't focus on people's exposure to information. Keep your eye on their quest for status and group identity. The book is rich with insights for anyone who uses social media and is essential reading for anyone who wants to improve our democracy.' — Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion 'In this brilliant book, Chris Bail — one of the world's leading computational social scientists — brings deep sociological knowledge, cutting-edge research, and profound empathy to one of society's most vexing problems: the increasingly polarised and uncivil nature of political discussion. Engagingly written and brimming with insight, Breaking the Social Media Prism is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how we got here and how we might escape.' —Duncan J. Watts, author of Everything Is Obvious

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9780691203423

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Reviews

Masterful . . . immediately relevant. . . . Breaking the Social Media Prism answers important questions about the origins of our current political environment and suggests how existing platforms and reward systems might be redesigned to make things better. Bail's scientific conclusions are refreshing in a space dominated by informed speculation, and the book offers hope that data-driven solutions can bring us back from the brink. ---Jennifer Golbeck, Science [Bail] draws on extensive interviews with social media users to explore the profound differences between people's online and real-life personas, and lucidly details his own efforts to develop a new social media platform that cultivates more civil discourse. This is a persuasive and well-informed look at one of today's most pressing social issues. * Publishers Weekly * [A] brilliant case . . . for social science research. * Library Journal * Breaking The Social Media Prism challenges the accepted wisdom of echo chambers and algorithms & suggests that if we really want to solve political tribalism online the solution isn't just some isolated thing called technology but also inside ourselves. ---Samira Shackle, With Reason Podcast Essential reading for many of us who are concerned with the impact of social media on civility and democracy. ---Andrew Keen, Keen On podcast Smartly and engagingly challenges assumptions about how [ideological and cultural echo] chambers work. ---Frank Bruni, New York Times Every one of Bail's chapters threads together multiple lines of thought - some dating back decades or centuries - interweaving the frontiers of online social science research with the traditions they emerge from. . . . Bail's analysis of the problem of online polarization is clarifying and compelling. ---Paul Rosenberg, Salon Provides useful pointers for understanding online (mis)behavior. * Kirkus Reviews * A really, really important book and really educational. ---Sophie Roell, Five Books

Provides useful pointers for understanding online (mis)behavior. * Kirkus Reviews *

[Bail] draws on extensive interviews with social media users to explore the profound differences between people's online and real-life personas, and lucidly details his own efforts to develop a new social media platform that cultivates more civil discourse. This is a persuasive and well-informed look at one of today's most pressing social issues. * Publishers Weekly * Provides useful pointers for understanding online (mis)behavior. * Kirkus Reviews *

Masterful . . . immediately relevant. . . . Breaking the Social Media Prism answers important questions about the origins of our current political environment and suggests how existing platforms and reward systems might be redesigned to make things better. Bail's scientific conclusions are refreshing in a space dominated by informed speculation, and the book offers hope that data-driven solutions can bring us back from the brink. ---Jennifer Golbeck, Science [Bail] draws on extensive interviews with social media users to explore the profound differences between people's online and real-life personas, and lucidly details his own efforts to develop a new social media platform that cultivates more civil discourse. This is a persuasive and well-informed look at one of today's most pressing social issues. * Publishers Weekly * [A] brilliant case . . . for social science research. * Library Journal * Breaking The Social Media Prism challenges the accepted wisdom of echo chambers and algorithms & suggests that if we really want to solve political tribalism online the solution isn't just some isolated thing called technology but also inside ourselves. ---Samira Shackle, With Reason Podcast Essential reading for many of us who are concerned with the impact of social media on civility and democracy. ---Andrew Keen, Keen On podcast Every one of Bail's chapters threads together multiple lines of thought - some dating back decades or centuries - interweaving the frontiers of online social science research with the traditions they emerge from. . . . Bail's analysis of the problem of online polarization is clarifying and compelling. ---Paul Rosenberg, Salon Provides useful pointers for understanding online (mis)behavior. * Kirkus Reviews * A really, really important book and really educational. ---Sophie Roell, Five Books

Provides useful pointers for understanding online (mis)behavior. * Kirkus Reviews * [Bail] draws on extensive interviews with social media users to explore the profound differences between people's online and real-life personas, and lucidly details his own efforts to develop a new social media platform that cultivates more civil discourse. This is a persuasive and well-informed look at one of today's most pressing social issues. * Publishers Weekly *

Author Information

Chris Bail is professor of sociology and public policy at Duke University, where he directs the Polarization Lab. He is the author of Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream (Princeton). Website chrisbail.net Twitter @chris_bail

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